what’s old is new again

James and I briefly shared a computer four years ago. Considering how much time we both spend online now, I can’t imagine going back to sharing a device. I had a Compaq desktop for almost a decade – at one point the monitor was dying, and I had to put a blanket over my head and the monitor in order to see the screen. Klassy. I replaced the monitor and kept using the machine until it just couldn’t chug up that hill any longer. So for a few months until I bought my laptop, I had to use James’ computer. Which means that the digital photos I uploaded to his machine at that time were lost when his computer puked its guts up. I thought the photos were gone forever until I found a little thumb drive yesterday that had a copy of all of my photos on it. Happy day! Here’s to always having a back up plan (and remembering that you had a back up plan).

This is a shot that James took with my camera. I like it because, if you look closely at the bottom third of the shot, you’ll see me in a green sweater. I’m sitting in Castro Canyon at Deetjen’s in Big Sur, writing in my journal while James is hiking above me. Looking at this picture, I can almost conjure up the sounds and smell and feel of the air of that little parcel of paradise. We were in Big Sur for Mason’s wedding in 2006, and we enjoyed the area and Deetjen’s so much that we went back there last year.

Alcatraz on the same trip to California. That was a super creepy place, and we did the daytime trip. It was just getting dark when we left. They have a nighttime tour that goes to different parts of the island and I’m sure is much creepier. Not one for typical touristy stuff, but I’m glad we checked this place out.

We got back from that trip to California late at night, and I had to get on a plane to New York early the next morning for work. I’d spent all of my trip planning efforts on the vacation, so I had to wing it in NYC (it was my first trip there). While wandering around near my hotel, I came across St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Went inside and hung out for a bit. Check this out:

Um, what the hell is the dark thing a couple of pews in front of me? I took a number of pictures from this angle, and the black thing only shows up in this shot. Can’t believe I didn’t notice that when I first uploaded the picture. Guess it’s a good thing I lit a candle while I was there…

Finally, I was happy to find this website today. It features some ridiculous (and seemingly real) email conversations. I’ve only read a few so far, but the first four entries literally made me laugh out loud. No small feat.